The psalmist is crying to God in his time of trouble. We aren’t told what the nature of his trouble is, but we do see that he is so troubled that he refuses to be comforted and cannot speak. Clearly, he is under great duress!
Acknowledging God’s perfect holiness, the psalmist asks if there is a god like our God (v. 13). Not needing to answer that question, he begins to describe God as one who works wonders, who has made His might known among the peoples (v. 14). For the balance of the chapter, then, he recounts what God has faithfully done in the past for His people.
Today, in our times of sadness and despair, in order to renew our hope in God, we would do well to look back at what God has done. Unlike the psalmist, we have the single greatest event in all of redemptive history that we can look back upon—the cross! God’s might was most manifest in the power of Jesus Christ and His atoning death and resurrection. Jesus completed the culminating work in all of redemptive history and we have been given the privilege of living in a time when we can look back on that has already been done.
Therefore, like the psalmist before us, may we look to what our wonder-working God has done through Christ in saving a people for His glory and for their joy. May our hope and confidence in God be like that of Abraham, whose faith grew strong as he was convinced that God was able to do what He had promised (Romans 4:21).
As you focus on His heart toward you and encounter His passionate affection for you, then you will become more equipped to overcome temptation. Focus on four key elements of the gospel in your journey to understanding the fullness of God:
1. Who God is
2. What He has done
3. What you can receive
4. What you should do
We often place most of the emphasis on the last three: what God has done for us in Christ, the forgiveness and inheritance we receive as adopted children, and what we should do in our walk with God. The foundational element—who God is—is often tragically absent in our messages.
THE GREAT NEED OF THIS HOUR IS TO MAKE KNOWN THE PERSONALITY OF GOD.
